Dialing in a tube amp

bodhi

Found this interesting.

What are your opinions on the "best" way of dialing in your tube amp?

normula1

That's very similar to the Matt Schofield method that I use.

bodhi

normula1 said:

That's very similar to the Matt Schofield method that I use.

Ah, yes.  And he applies that to pedals and guitar controls, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shAtnDUXGlQ&feature=youtu.be&t=26m30s

Philtre

Dude from Dawsons does the same:

Fuengi

My Yerasov GTA 15 has only volume and tone controls! 

Fortunately it sounds good at any setting! 

ICBM

I don't see the purpose in doing it with nothing plugged in. You need to do it with a normal guitar signal going through it so you can hear how the actual guitar sound reacts to the controls. I do look for the point where the controls do the most over the smallest range, but it's important to listen to the whole travel, not just turn it up from zero and stop at the first point where the frequency kicks in… often there's more than one point where it makes a big difference. I also don't just do it in the same order, since often the controls are interactive - go back and forth between the various controls until you hear how they interact.

MartinB

Hmm, I'm not quite getting the point behind this.  If you had two almost identical amps that varied only in the taper of the pots, the rate of change as you turned the knobs would be different, so you would identify a different "correct" sound with each using this method.  I could understand identifying the point where each control sounds like too much or too little and setting it just short of either point, but this all seems rather arbitrary.  

richardhomer

Not quite sure why just plugging your guitar in and tweaking to taste isn't a valid a method? It's probably all part of the concept of 'tone', I'm guessing. 

Pound to a penny that no truly great guitar music has been recorded through an amp set up in this way....

timmysoft

Do people really need direction in this? 

Turn the knobs until it sounds good, all of this method is just Internet flannel.

ICBM

MartinB said:

Hmm, I'm not quite getting the point behind this.  If you had two almost identical amps that varied only in the taper of the pots, the rate of change as you turned the knobs would be different, so you would identify a different "correct" sound with each using this method.  I could understand identifying the point where each control sounds like too much or too little and setting it just short of either point, but this all seems rather arbitrary.  

Actually you would identify the same 'correct' sound, but at different knob settings. Pot tapers do indeed vary slightly, which is why setting things exactly by the numbers - which a lot of players seem to - isn't the best way.

timmysoft said:

Do people really need direction in this? 

Turn the knobs until it sounds good, all of this method is just Internet flannel.

That's true, but there are quicker and more effective ways off arriving at it, and slower and less effective ones.

I was initially sceptical about the 'Matt Schofield method' when I first read about it too, but having tried it, there really is something in it. At the very least, turning each control through the full range and listening for the 'most change point' will let you really hear what it's doing, which gives a much better idea of how to set it for what you want if it's not there - but perhaps surprisingly, it does often seem to be. Give it a try...

I would repeat that I think it's fairly pointless without playing through it though - just dialling the amp in to its own background noise probably isn't going to make it sound any better. It may give roughly the same result, but why bother? You still need to play through it to tell.

JDE

This is what we have become now. 

MartinB

What if the point of most change sits between "too bright" and "way too bright"?  Do we still trust to the method rather than our own judgement?  It feels almost superstitious.  
If it was about hitting that point just before clipping increases steeply so that the dynamic range of your picking gives you the most tonal control, that would make sense.  But on any amp with a tone stack and more than one volume control there are multiple combinations that could get you there.  

57Deluxe

is no one way if you use multiple guitars and pedals. You just have to spend a few hours auditioning the options and taking a few pics of what sound the best and keeping your results in a 'go-to' folder. Did a bit of this just yesterday in fact... Kills your  playing creativity for the session mind you and can leave you feeling rather flat...

Philtre

I use this method and it works. But what the OP and vids fail to show is that ideally you should wear insulated gloves when adjusting the knobs (silk or rubber). Otherwise skin contact can adversely affect the tone by induction.

richardhomer

There was a Guitarist video with Larry Carlton demonstrating how he set the amp up so it was clean when he backed of his attack and driven when he dug in. This was all about setting the volume (IIRC it was a tweed Deluxe he was playing through). 

The tone controls are there to give you the tonal balance you want with different guitars - and as others have said - will affect the gain structure of the amp as a result.

This smacks of hi fi tweakery. I'm perfectly happy with my ears telling me what sounds right. By definition - unless an amp is only capable of giving one 'perfect' sound - this method cannot be viewed as the 'only' way of doing things....

exocet

Pretty sure it was Scott Henderson who was originally credited with this approach to dialling in an amp. There's no harm in giving it a go - certainly if the amp in question is new to you and you have limited time to fiddle.

timmysoft

Sheep 

randella

ICBM said:

timmysoft said:

Do people really need direction in this? 

Turn the knobs until it sounds good, all of this method is just Internet flannel.

That's true, but there are quicker and more effective ways off arriving at it, and slower and less effective ones.

I was initially sceptical about the 'Matt Schofield method' when I first read about it too, but having tried it, there really is something in it. At the very least, turning each control through the full range and listening for the 'most change point' will let you really hear what it's doing, which gives a much better idea of how to set it for what you want if it's not there - but perhaps surprisingly, it does often seem to be. Give it a try...

I'm pretty sure I read about the 'Matt Schofield Method' in Guitarist magazine when I was first starting out, given that I'm a year older than him (according to his Wiki anyway, I know I know yes I am putting off a job I don't want to do) I'm sceptical as to the naming of this technique

Anyway, I'm with @timmysoft on this.  Turn the knobs until you like the sound that comes out.  Set to taste, play, change mind, set to taste, play, before you know it you've lost four hours which, to me, is all the fun of getting a new amp anyway.

If you have to do it quickly then you're probably either a touring guitarist renting amps, or a studio producer with lots of your own - in either case you'll have a pretty good idea of what you're going to do anyway.

Remembering that mag column, I've tried the MS technique a few times and, while it's probably quicker, I'm not convinced it's any more effective but then (outside of gigs) I'm an inveterate tweaker of knobs anyway.

Sassafras

I'm really struggling to understand how dialling in an amp without a guitar plugged in is a good idea. Unless air guitar is your instrument of choice.

bodhi

Ok, so it's a can of worms then.

But I get the concept of pots not tapering perfectly and finding the limited area(s) where they affect the amp or sound the most, and taking it from there.  Kind of makes sense in that way.  Maybe those are the "sweet spot(s)" to sheep's ears, for some reason the sheep can't quite fathom.

timmysoft

What happens if the tone you're after is "out of range", so it sits out side of where the pots are supposedly doing the most?